Improvement in car-couplings



CARL L. HORACK, OF HASTINGS, MINNESOTA.

`IMPROVEMENT IN CAR-COUPLINGS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 119,359, datedSeptember 26, 1871.

To all whom fit may concern:

Be it known that I, CARL L. HoRAcK, of Hast ings, in the county ofDakota and State of Minnesota, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Car-Couplings, of which the following is a full, clear,and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawingforming part of this specification,` in which- Similar letters ofreference indicate correspondl ing parts in both figures.

This invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement,within a draw-head, of a swinging bar and locking-bolt, whereby a verysimple and self-acting car-coupling is obtained.

To enable others to construct car-couplings according to my invention, lwill proceed to describe the saine with reference to the drawing.

n Both couplings being of similar construction it will be suiiicient todescribe one of them. A is a cast-iron draw-head, which, in its generaloutlines, is of the ordinary forni. The front end of this draw-head isformed with a spacious cavity, A', and with two vertical openings, a d',opposite each other. O11 top ofthe draw-head, right above said openings,anupright standard, B, is firmly secured or cast to the same. Throughthe top of said standard a vertical opening, b, is formed in line withthe openings a a. C is a locking-bolt, the upper end of which is formedwith a head to prevent it from dropping through the standard B. D E F isa swinging bar, which consists of a straight portion, D, curved portionE above said portion D, and a forked upper portion, F. This is pivoted,by its forked portion F, to pivots@ d, provided on the upper portion ofthe standard B. The portion E forms an arc concentric with the pivots d,and works through and opening, c, in the top of the draw-head. The

forked portion F of the said bar may be made of two separate pieces andrigidly attached to the part Eby means of a screw-bolt, t, and nut.

The operation of this car-coupling is as follows: The sectoral portion Eofthe swinging bar, actuated by gravity, assumes such a position withinthe cavity A when the bolt C is withdrawn therefrom, as shown in theleft-hand draw-head in Fig. 1, as to prevent the latter from enteringsaid cavity till the connecting-link G is entered into the cavity Al andpushed against the straight portion D of the swinging bar, till thesectoral portion E has entirely receded from under the opening a, whenthe locking-bolt C will drop through the cavity A and opening a', asshown in the right-hand draw-head, thereby locking the link G. To insurethe centering of the link in the cavity of the draw-head of the othercar, the lower end of the straight portion of the swinging bar D E F isrecessed so as to receive the end of the link, while the mouth of thecavity Al is formed with a projection, f, thus forcing the link G toassume a slanting position with the outer end upward, as shown inFig. 1. To uncouple, it is only necessary to withdraw the bolt C as faras to clear the 'cavity A', when the bar D E F by its own weight willswing forward to the position shown in the left-hand draw-head, in whichit will support the bolt; and in so swinging forward it will push thelink out of the cavity in the draw-head. Thus a very simple and reliableselfcoupling for cars is obtained.

What is here claimed, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is

The curved and forked swinging bar D E F, pivoted on the standard B, andarranged in com bination with the draw-head A and bolt U, as shown anddescribed.

CARL L. HOBAGK.

Witnesses EDWIN E. WooDMAN,

J. T. DODGE. (20)

